Belmont Stakes - 1973 - Secretariat

Robin1982

Permit me to post a link to, what I consider, the greatest performance by a thoroughbred at a racetrack.

Secretariat, in 1973, had come to the Belmont Stakes (3yo - 12f), the third and final leg of the US Triple Crown, on the back of spectacular victories in the Kentucky Derby (3yo - 10f in 1:59 2/5) and the Preakness Stakes (3yo - 9.5f in 1:53 2/5).

Only 3 other horses faced Secretariat in the Belmont, including Sham who had finished 2nd in each of those previous Classics.

Secretariat's Belmont Stakes victory 1973

I would suggest watching the video now and afterwards considering the following statistics:

Secretariat's actual winning distance was 31 lengths. As a comparison, the largest margin of victory of the Epsom Derby (3yo - 12f) is 10 lengths (Shergar)

His final time of 2:24 for the mile and a half distance at Belmont Park (a world record) not only remains unbeaten, but untouchable. The closest that horses have got close to it have been the champions Easy Goer and A.P. Indy (2:26). In more recent times, Point Given won in 2:26 1/5 when winning the Belmont. In other words, no horse to this day has been to within 12 lengths of Secretariat's performance at Belmont.

Secretariat ran the first quarter mile in 23 3/5, the half mile in 46 1/5, five furlongs in 58 1/5, six furlongs in 1:09 4/5 (1 second faster than any other Belmont at this point; just over a second off the 6f track record for G1 sprinters, and the race is only halfway completed), a mile in 1:34 1/5, nine furlongs in 1:46 1/5 (tying the world record for a 9f race, and there is still 3f to go), a mile and a quarter in 1:59 (faster than his Kentucky Derby time; unheard of), 11 furlongs in 2:11 1/5 (3 seconds faster than Man O' War's 11f Belmont time) and, finally, the mile and a half in 2:24 flat.

Even pulling up after the finishing post, he was unofficially timed breaking the mile and five furlongs world record.

In the Kentucky Derby, he ran each successive quarter mile faster than the previous. His Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes* winning times remain as records.

As an aside, he is considered the perfect model of thoroughbred's conformation - a flawless physical presence. You simply have to look at his stride in the above video to envisage the power and grace he possessed.

His only point of reference is himself. I hope you enjoy it.

careca

Robin1982 wrote:

I hope you enjoy it.

Thanks. I did. Didn't really know that much about him, only heard his name in places. Informative and enjoyable.

kincsem

Is USA timing comparable to European timing? I have a feeling they start the timing in the USA not at the stalls but after the horses have run a short distance.
Turtle Island won the Irish 2000 Guineas by 15 lengths (over only 8f).
You must also consider that in the USA they run around an oval while at the English Derby they must first climb 140 feet to the top of the hill.
Secretariat was good but I was more impressed by Sea-Bird winning the Derby by 1 1/2 lengths.
And what about the great Eclipse. The judge's verdict "Eclipse first, the rest nowhere". Unfortunately, before the camera, television, video, or DVD, were invented. Probably about a furlong ahead.

Robin1982

kincsem wrote:

...Is USA timing comparable to European timing? I have a feeling they start the timing in the USA not at the stalls but after the horses have run a short distance...

No they are not entirely compatible. The USA does have a certain a short distance (not fixed, different for each track - and at each difference - I believe - on average about 20 feet I'd say) before the horse's reach the first timing section. I believe in the UK the timing equipment is triggered by the stalls.

kincsem wrote:

...Turtle Island won the Irish 2000 Guineas by 15 lengths (over only 8f)...

In a similar time to Araafa's win this year - to give an indication of the state of the ground. He also never won again. He was a very good horse on soft ground (and this preference has been passed on to his progeny as you well know) but he was no Secretariat.

As a small piece of information, lengths back calculations in America as done subjectively by examining the photo print. I the UK its done using time; 0.2 seconds always equates to 1 length. I don't know about the situation in Ireland.

kincsem wrote:

...You must also consider that in the USA they run around an oval while at the English Derby they must first climb 140 feet to the top of the hill...

True, but time is immutable. There is a reason that under such standard conditions (the Belmont is run on the same track and on very similar going every year) no other horse has approached Secretariat's performance. The 3 fastest Derby's have been Lammtarra, Galileo and Mahmoud II - what does that infer?

kincsem wrote:

...Secretariat was good but I was more impressed by Sea-Bird winning the Derby by 1 1/2 lengths...

Indeed he won in a canter but when that happens one can only guess at how much faster he could have gone - true?

kincsem wrote:

...And what about the great Eclipse. The judge's verdict "Eclipse first, the rest nowhere". Unfortunately, before the camera, television, video, or DVD, were invented. Probably about a furlong ahead...

Perhaps, perhaps not. Either way we will never know, so its not really worth considering.

Morgans

Sea Bird was the best European trained animal of the modern era while Secretariat was the best american from the same time. Sea Bird was brilliant but the only race more visually striking than Secretariat's Belmont was Arazi's Breeders Cup win.

Turtle Island doesnt deserve to be mentioned in the same breath. St Jovite broke the track record at the Curragh by so much in 1992 that they thought they had started the race from the wrong place.

It is because the US tracks are uniform that there is more emphasis placed on time analysis there than here. There are relatively few false paced races as well.

aidankk

the only race more visually striking than Secretariat's Belmont was Arazi's Breeders Cup win.

.[/QUOTE]


I have a dvd of the best 50 races of all time, and the arazi race is the most startling thing on it. It is like something made up for a Movie to look totaly unrealistic... He just ran by the whole field and kept going.... Definatly the best single performance ive seen

Pity he was never as good again..........

Morgans

AidanKK,

any idea where one could purchase that dvd of which you speak. Worth it alone for that race. You are dead right. Like something that you would see out of National Velvet or something. The runner up Bertrando turned out to be top class as well.

Robin1982

I wouldn't be surprised if its "Horseracing's Greatest Ever Races" presented by Claire Balding - but aidan would have to confirm.

The end of the race is available to view on the Breeders' Cup website (in the Time Capsule section - 1991 - Juvenile). Although it does not show Arazi's breathtaking move around the field, listening to the commentator's amazement as he overtakes Bertrando as they enter the stretch is entertainment in itself.

Certainly one the most striking performances of all.

Robin1982

kincsem wrote:

...I'm never too impressed by time as conditions have such a large effect on time...

There are plenty of methods to account for this. I don't have any doubt that pace handicapping allied with speed handicapping are the most powerful tools to determine the true merits of a performance.

kincsem wrote:

...I was at Fairyhouse one weekend when they thought a bunch of handicappers had beaten the world record for six furlongs (and there is a big bend). Oops, workmen moved the start by about 1/2 furlong...

I also remember that - but the management of Irish racecourses versus American tracks are vastly different. The US have been (successfully) using time as the basis for their handicapping methodology for decades.

kincsem wrote:

...
How about 1 1/2 miles
09/06/73 .... Secretariat..... 2:24.0 ..... Belmont
14/10/89 .... Hawkster ....... 2:22.8 ..... Santa Anita
...

You are not comparing like for like.

kincsem wrote:

...
Kentucky Derby
1962 ... Decidedly ........... 2:00:2/5
1964 ... Northern Dancer .. 2:00:0/5
1967 ... Proud Clarion ...... 2:00:3/5
1973 ... Secretariat ....... 1:59:2/5
1985 ... Spend A Buck ..... 2:00:1/5
2001 ... Monarchos ......... 1:59.97
...

Unlike the Epsom Derby, the Kentucky equivalent is always run at a true pace under fairly standard conditions. The fact that Secretariat is so much faster than the others is significant. But speed figures, calculated using data from the race day, give a clearer picture on the excellence of a performance. Secretariat's Derby performance was excellent.

kincsem wrote:

...Maybe the 31 lengths margin was visually impressive but the time was at most about five lengths better than the worst of the above. Secretariat was top class but the 31 lengths was more to do with how the rest of the field performed...

This is simply inaccurate and displays a fundamental misunderstanding of pace and time handicapping.

kincsem wrote:

...How about Kincsem for impressive performances. She ran 54 times, and won 54 times.

In the 1870s, of which all but five were outside of Austria/Hungary. Her wins in England (Goodwood Cup), France (Grand Prix de Deauville) and Germany (Grosser Preis von Baden) are said to have been impressive.

However, none of her performances are available to be examined and the standard of racing at the time can not be evaluated.

Robin1982

kincsem wrote:

...You have many answers, but I would like facts not generalisations...

Quite why this statement has such an agressive tone implied I find hard to fathom.

kincsem wrote:

...Only four rivals dared show up for the Belmont Stakes (G1) on June 9, including Sham. What the Belmont Park faithful and a national television audience witnessed was one of the greatest performances in racing history. Secretariat and Sham both went after the lead at the start of the race and engaged in a six-furlong duel--clocked in 1:09-4/5--which would have seemed self-destructive if it had been any other horse but Secretariat. Sham, injured and never to race again, surrendered after six furlongs, backing up to last. With no competition but himself, Secretariat went on a record-destroying mission, winning the race by 31 lengths, an all-time record, while running the 1-1/2 miles in 2:24, knocking 2-3/5 seconds off the track record...Sham finished the race injured...

From what I can tell you have highlighted sections in the text that infer weaknesses in the merits of Secretariat's performance. There is not much I can say.

Only four rivals opposed most likely due to the fact that no horse had got within 8 lengths of Sham or over 10 lengths of Secretariat in the previous two Classics and were widely believed to be running for 3rd place at best.

Many would say that Sham's injury was due to fact that the two horses recorded such fast sectionals (as outlined in my first post and indeed in your own quote. But who knows? As for having no competition, surely that is simply a function of the fact that he was running so much faster than any of the others?

kincsem wrote:

...The time was good but the field was not. The 31 lengths is a record but not solely due to Secretariat's performance...

The only reason I even mentioned 31 lengths was for the sake of accuracy as in the video link posted, the commentator declares Secretariat's margin of victory as 25 lengths. Margin of victory, and hence, the "greatness" of a performance, is of course not determined by just one horse. "Eclipse first, the rest nowhere" is about as inaccurate as it gets and, for me, does not lend itself well when searching for excellence.

kincsem wrote:

...Japan Cup, 2400 metres (about 0.8 secs short of 1 1/2 miles)
2005 ...Alkaased ............2:22.1
I could find many times less than 2:24:0/5 for 1 1/2 miles

I am in no doubt that you could. However that example is on a different surface, a different track, held at the end of November and recorded by a 5yo horse.

kincsem wrote:

...Secretariat's world record of 2:24:0/5 for 1 1/2 miles on dirt...How many races are run over 1 1/2 miles on dirt?

Historically, worldwide and under standard timing conditions? I, like you, have absolutely no idea. But again, the nature of pace (and speed) handicapping can identify great performances even at rare distances.

kincsem wrote:

...Large margin wins in the Belmont are common...

Indeed, but should you read my initial post again. I focus on the actual pace of the race and final time when determining that this was the greatest performance (in my humble opinion) by a thoroughbred.

We seem to be approaching the topic from separate angles. I formed my opinion on my knowledge of pace handicapping, of speed handicapping, of energy distribution and of trip handicapping because that is what I believe its the best method and it is what works for me. If you are not familiar with these subjects then I'm not surprised that you seem to disagree. Horses for courses, as they say.

kincsem wrote:

...The official time is 1:54:2/5

Secretariat fans say the timing was broken and it should be 1:53:2/5...

From my first post...

Robin1982 wrote:

...His Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes* winning times remain as records...

... I had left that asterisk should anyone raise the point you have made. You are correct, the official time is 1:54 2/5. However to leave it at that would be disingenuous to those who are silently following this thread.

After the Preakness had been run, the offical time on the teletimer was in fact 1:55 flat. There was disbelief around the track as the race was run at such a fast pace and yet was a full second behind Canonero II's track record of 1:54 flat.

Soon, word began to spread that the time was incorrect. The Daily Racing Form's (the more statistically-minded equivalent of the Racing Post in the US) veteren clockers had both timed the race, from different vantage points as 1:53 2/5 - including their chief of clockers Frenchy Schwartz - whose responsibility it is to verify all time information in the DRF (an important job, since so much money is bet on the basis of these figures).

Later, Pimlico (the track) conceded that the timer had malfunctioned but now were accepting the track's official timer's (E T McClean) hand time of 1:54 2/5.

Later still, the Maryland Racing Commission held a hearing on the matter. CBS-TV, who had recorded both races from the same camera position, ran both races side by side and synchronised - Secretariat crossed the line before Canonero. However the Commission still decided to keep McClean's time.

To this day, the DRF notes its disagreement in the official charts and whenever Preakness times are mentioned. Any handicapper that I have spoken to or studied, all accept 1:53 2/5 as the true winning time. The above evidence is good enough for me to join them.

I only started this thread just to give others a chance to enjoy a great performance.